


Hyacinth

by thesunmoonandtruth



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blackwatch Genji, Injury Recovery, Other, Slow Burn, Young-ish Genji
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2018-10-17 02:48:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10584849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesunmoonandtruth/pseuds/thesunmoonandtruth
Summary: When Overwatch offered to fix him, Genji didn't realize that he would be transformed into a machine. You were a medical assistant tasked with his care. It was a simple task, but he made it not-so-simple to keep your distance.





	1. Bud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk anything about medicine why am I like this :'-)
> 
> EDIT: hi. got a tumblr up so i can interact with you guys more. https://chronicobsession.tumblr.com/

It wasn't your first time seeing him, but it certainly felt like it.

It took a keycard to enter the secured room that they moved him after the operations. He laid on a hospital bed, made comfortable even though his body couldn't tell the difference anymore. The slow beep of the ECG filled the room. Tubes protruded from his body, hooked up to various machines. It was considerably less than last week. You picked up the clipboard hanging at the foot of the bed.

Genji Shimada.

You didn't know much about him besides what was on his charts. Shimada was a vaguely familiar name, but you were more intrigued by the body in front of you. Being a medical assistant at the watch point, you had seen your share of cybernetics. This was... new. 

You walked over to his side to check on his vitals. Your eyes flitted from his charts to his body, unable to focus. You were still in awe over how clean a job Dr. Ziegler had done. She had salvaged what she could--most of his head, his upper torso, his left arm--and had blended the synthetic skin with his real skin beautifully. 

Feather-light, you ran a finger across the mix of organic and synthetic on his right arm. Just for a moment. Then it was back to recording his vitals. 

That moment was enough. Gradually, the beeping of the ECG increased until you had to look up from the clipboard and saw that his eyes were open.

"Oh shit," you said. You reached for the button to call for a nurse. Or Dr. Ziegler. "The patient in the special recovery room is-"

A hand gripped your wrist, cold. Dazed eyes looked back at you. Scars covered his face. His teeth clenched, showing his you that his reconstructed jaw worked fine. Genji pulled you in until you were stumbling and said something low in Japanese. You couldn't understand him, but he sounded threatening. Dangerous.

"Hello, Mr. Shimada," you tried to soothe him. His already tight grip on your wrist became almost unbearable. Still, you maintained an even voice. "Can you hear me? Do you know where you are?"

"Where... am I?" His English was heavily accented. It didn't help that his voice was now foreign to himself. It was electronic. He let go of your wrist to touch his neck. 

You rubbed your bruised wrist. "Watchpoint Gibraltar," you said. "I don't know where they found you, but they fixed you up."

You watched him look down at his hand. Synthetic flesh flexed as he stretched out his arm. You saw him look down at his torso, the bottom half no longer his own. He had fake skin that had artificial touch receptors, but under it were robotic parts put in him during the course of two weeks.

Genji tried to push himself out of the bed. He shoved you away when you tried to protest and swung his legs over the bed. The man's legs might've been stronger than any regular human's, but he was unaccustomed to his new body. His knees buckled and hit the hospital floor with a hollow clang.

As your hands reached out to the fallen patient, you said, "Mr. Shimada, I really think you should rest--"

He head turns to you abruptly. "Don't touch me."

You wilt.

Heels click into the room. The slim figure of Dr. Angela Ziegler stopped in front of the two of you. Neither of you noticed the door opening.

Ziegler walked past you and said with a smile, "Thank you for your help. We'll handle it from here."

Out the door you went. With the help of a nurse, the doctor managed to bring him onto his feet."...I'm glad to see you're awake, Genji..."

The door slid shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first fanfic on here & ever... updates every few days I guess. thanks for reading <3


	2. Who do you think you are?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genji has a long way to go until he completes his goal. The first obstacle is his own body.
> 
> aka angry Genji

You didn't see him the rest of the day he woke up, but you were there the next morning. Dr. Ziegler had him hooked up to some machines to run diagnostics. You were at a computer, typing everything that was happening. He was surrounded by other doctors of different disciplines.

"Genji, you're going to have to reconsider," said tired-looking man. "We can't put you through training without you going through a little physical therapy."

Genji spoke with some Japanese interjections, but he spoke clear enough. "I have had training since I was a child,  _sensei_."

"You won't be able to function at full capacity of you don't get acquainted with your body first." That was Ziegler. She looked up from her screens. "It won't take very long, Genji. My team will take care of you."

"You gave me this body, but you expect me not to use it?" Genji scoffed. He shot of a string of Japanese that none of you but a nurse understood. She gasped. "I agreed to this for one reason--"

He stopped, realizing that there were others in the room. You in particular. The monitor measuring his vitals beeped rapidly. Genji took a long breath until it slowed. He tried again. "The price for this"--he gestured to his legs--"was to help you. I cannot help you if you keep me here."

Mercy tapped away at her screens, letting him soak in the situation.

Genji was angry, but his anger was not directed towards them. "I don't need it." Voice final, he got off the slate he was sitting on.

For a moment, you thought that he was telling the truth. His back was squared, body relaxed. Cocky as ever. Then he took one step, two, and you saw for yourself what the doctors were talking about. Genji was moving, but it didn't seem like he was in control of his legs. The movements seemed chunky and unrefined.

Genji stumbled a bit and stopped. He clenched his fists. "I just need to get adjusted to this body," he said. His eyes went around the room, challenging the doctors.

 

Ziegler sentenced Genji Shimada to a day of physical therapy. Naturally, he resisted. Stood there and looked at the physical therapist like she was crazy. It was an hour of arguing and bargaining until he gave in and sat down to start on his arm. Dr. Ziegler left after a few minutes, leaving you with the physical therapist to note his progress. It was only the three of you in the room. The building had many floors--as many underground as above. The doctor had an entire floor dedicated to her research.

After a day, you had already gotten a feel for the man's personality. He was arrogant. Self-assured. When he talked to the doctors, he wasn't afraid to argue with them. Genji thought himself important, after all, so he didn't even look at you.

But you were surprised when you saw Genji struggle to work his legs on the parallel bars. It was like watching a toddler. The fine motor skills that most adults perfected were suddenly reset for his body, so you didn't blame him. You couldn't help but frown a bit when his legs locked up for the third time. Moving his new parts required a lot of concentration. He would lose his focus sometimes.

" _Ōi_ " You met his eyes. That was the first thing he had said to you all day. There was an edge to his eyes that wasn't there when he woke up. You couldn't help but notice the controlled fury in his eyes, face, whole being, and wonder what made him like this. "Is there a problem?"

"No, not at all."

"Then what is that look for?" Genji replied. At this point, you realized that he was just looking for a fight. All the responses you could make ran through your mind.

You settled on: "It was nothing. Sorry." It showed that you didn't want trouble. Knowing these types of people, you didn't want to get on their bad side. Or any side at all, really.

" _Nan dayo omae-wa_?" Not a single word was understood, but you spoke the language of tone very well. Still, you didn't bite back.

You held onto his gaze and apologized once more. The patient's comfort was the priority. You didn't know about his past. He had to have half his body replaced, and you weren't even informed why. All you knew was that he was still a person who deserved proper care. Genji was the one who broke the staring contest to ignore you again. He ran a hand through his hair. The hair, though clipped short at the hospital, still had remnants of fading green dye. When he moved away from his spot on the bars, you catch a dent in the metal where his right hand was. Scary. That explained the purple bruises on your wrist.

The physical therapist laughed nervously. The patients prior to Genji had not caused so much trouble. The atmosphere was thick enough to cut. She attempted navigate away from the tension. "You're doing a splendid job, Genji. Let's move on, shall we?"

You hung behind to type notes, but also to avoid giving him an excuse for confrontation. He had a clear dislike of you. As if sensing your thoughts, he turned to glare at you. You smiled back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you stick around for more :-)


	3. Fresh Wounds, Flesh Wounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> filler chapter sry pls don't hurt me

“Are you sure he’s out?”

Dr. Ziegler glanced up from her work. “Yes, he's asleep.”

Genji, with all his modifications, was a cyborg. Parts of his body--legs, some internal organs, and his entire left arm--had been replaced. Even so, he could still feel. He felt pressure, and could differentiate cold and hot surfaces.

He also felt pain. Tests that messed around with his sense of touch often ended up excruciating for him. The fine-tuning it took to replicate the delicate human sensations required a careful hand. Dr. Ziegler tried her best to be careful in calibrating, but a wrong signal could double him over in pain. Ziegler thought that it was best to put him under for the process. 

Genji shifted. You thought your eyes were playing tricks, because a moment of observation showed you nothing. A minute later, you saw Genji move once more. They were small twitches as he scrunched up his brows or turned his head from side to side. Worried, you had asked if he was still conscious. Ziegler had given you a reassuring answer. Still, Genji’s face contorted as though he was hit was a pang of discomfort. Dr. Ziegler only gave you an apologetic look. She hadn't touched his body for a good 10 minutes. She was reviewing the results. This was not her doing. 

You took it on yourself to go check if all his tubes were attached. Sure enough, everything was in working order. No leaks. You instead found his lips parted, muttering in his sleep. It was mostly breathy Japanese, but you heard one phrase repeated several times: “Hanzo.”

 

Genji was transferred back to the recovery room. Dr. Ziegler mentioned that he would be ready for training soon. You had come to associate the room as his, and the thought of seeing it vacant soon was be strange. You walked into the room to perform a routine check-in. His sleep-talking was so loud that you were almost fooled into believing that he was awake. The opposite was true when you crept closer.

Genji had the same expression of pain as earlier. A sheen of sweat covered his organic skin, and his body was rigid. Genji was due to wake up at any moment. It was half an hour after his session with Dr. Ziegler. Still, you debated waking him up. The sound of fitful sleep grew louder to the point of worry. What could he be dreaming of? This was not uncommon for the soldiers filling the hospital rooms, but you were sure he wasn’t part of Overwatch.

As if punctuating your question, Genji bolted awake. He was gasping and grasping at his stomach. His heart monitor went off like crazy. Very unprofessionally, you reached out to soothe him, calm him down. But his body jerked away from the contact as if your hand burned. You could tell that the drugs were wearing off. His eyes shifted to and fro, full of panic. Then, they fell on you. This felt familiar. Pulling your wrists out of his grabbing distance, you said, “It's alright. You’re in your room. You were having bad dreams.”

Genji’s monitors slowed down in their beeping. Good. He became a tad bit more alert. “Dreams?”

You nod. “During the diagnostic tests, and just now.”

He muttered something under his breath. More than anything, he looked miffed that you saw him like that. “I hate the tests.”

“They're not fun for you or the medical staff.” You flashed him his charts to make a point. One day, he would be able to do maintenance by himself. In the meantime, Genji had to be taken care of. The multitude of tubes and wires sticking out of his limbs were proof. Dependence on others hurt his ego. When big egos are hurt, they find ways to inflict the same amount of damage on others.

This was different. Genji had given you a lot of crap the past few days, but he looked like he was too worn out to bother you at the moment. The usually proud man was quiet and looked vulnerable. You suspected it had to do with the dreams. 

“Cheer up. You should be ready to be discharged by tomorrow,” you said. He was impatient since he woke up the first time. You recalled his conversations with the doctors. Now he would get his chance to do something other than lay in a hospital bed. 

Instead of cheering Genji up, you somehow soured the mood even more. His face dropped for a second before becoming a still mask. He was on guard again. You wouldn’t be getting any more replies from him. The check-in was completed in silence. You thought it was for the best, since you were brought on as part of a temporary staff for his care. You doubted he even knew your name. After tomorrow, you were free to return to your normal life. Back to broken bones and bullet wounds.

No goodbyes, you left the room with the image of him staring at a display on the wall. Having windows that far underground was impossible. The next best thing was digital cherry blossoms, swaying in a breeze he couldn't feel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> funny thing--i ended up writing some of the future chapters and i forgot!! to write!! chapter 3!!!!! isn't that wild?


	4. Cyborg Ninja

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems like you two can't get rid of each other. Mercy takes you on as an assistant to help oversee his training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this sitting around for a while. In honor of nanowrimo, I think I'll try picking this back up.

One week. 

It felt strange not to be assigned to Genji’s room when you clocked in the next morning. Forgetting the fact, you had opened an exam room and was actually surprised to see a young woman, an agent, sitting on the exam table. She looked at you expectantly.

You walked over to the computer in the room and skimmed her medical history. “What brings you here today?” At least your mouth still worked.

It got easier after her. You got back into the groove of your back office tasks, seeing multiple patients that day, but none of them a cyborg. Although repetitive, checking blood pressure and picking up phones was what you had been doing for the past 3 years. It was nothing new. The first week passed by without much thought.

Just as you got settled into your regular routine again, you came into work to find Dr. Ziegler talking to the staff. Now, the sight of a doctor chatting with nurses might’ve been a regular occurrence to a normal person, but this was  _ Zeigler.  _ When she wasn’t with Genji, she basically locked herself in her lab. Even the nurses realized this and took advantage of the opportunity to network. 

You considered greeting the doctor, briefly, and decided against it. Her back was turned. She was engaged in what you were sure was a riveting conversation. It’d be rude to interrupt her. You felt yourself start to walk away, but you couldn’t help but throw a glance back at her once more.

Dr. Ziegler was looking at you, too. Your eyes widened.

“Hello, Dr. Ziegler,” you said. She quickly excused herself from her conversation before heading towards you. The nurses who weren't busy looked towards you in curiosity. 

“Morning! You're just the person I was looking for. May I speak with you for a moment?” It was hard to believe that anyone was looking for you. You had to clock in, but the look in her eyes told you that it was urgent. 

“Of course.”

Ziegler smiled. “Walk with me.”

You complied. She said she wanted to talk, but not a peep was spoken until you both got into an elevator. Instead of pressing a button for a floor, you watched Dr. Ziegler scan her ID badge on a panel and press a couple of buttons. The elevator hummed and began its descent. 

After a brief exchange of awkward looks, she broke the silence. “I need your help.”

“With?”

“Genji.”

There was an uncomfortable pause. You shifted. “I thought I was taken off that case?”

“You were,” she started. Ziegler brushed her hair behind her ear. “But I feel like he would do well with someone familiar. Someone he trusts.”

You tried your best not to pull a funny face in front of her. You wondered if the two of you were talking about the same person. “Trusts? Dr. Ziegler, the man doesn't even  _ like  _ me.”

“He likes you a lot more than the rest of the staff,” she said. She tried to lift the corners of her mouth,  but that faltered fast. “I'm worried about him, you know. It's not healthy to harbor all those emotions. He doesn't trust me.”

The disbelief was clear on your face now. “And you think he trusts me?”

A smile ghosted on her lips. “No. But he can learn to.” The elevator lurched to a stop. The doors slid open, revealing an unfamiliar floor. It was a lot quieter than your station.

“Not a lot of people get to come down here. Why don't we come into my office to continue this chat?” The doctor didn’t even give you a chance to respond when she clicked her heels down the hall. You gave in and followed.   
  
  


Dr. Ziegler was persuasive.  _ Very  _ persuasive. The period of time between stepping off the elevator and ending up in the training room was a blur. You remembered having an office-load of paperwork, and her putting extra emphasis on how this was a top-secret job. It was risky for you to even know more than you already knew, but you would be rewarded for your time.

“You'll be excused of your normal duties, and work full time with me.

“Dr. Ziegler, I'm just not sure…”

“You're the only one who can do this. Please. Just give it a try?”

Just a try. All right. You took a deep breath and signed the papers.

Now, you followed closely behind Dr. Zeigler as she made her way through one of the unfamiliar centers.The air was filled with the smell of sweat and loud conversation that faltered when you two passed by. You saw new faces and guarded eyes that you felt burning holes into your scrubs. Your own gaze wandered across what you had deemed a training facility. The feeling of being watched lasted until you disappeared behind another door headed to one of the center’s observation rooms.

The door hissed closed. You took a few steps, looking around for a bit before pausing.

And then you saw him for the first time in a while. Ziegler went around to greet the personnel in the room, but your eyes were drawn to the giant glass window. Movement exploded behind the glass. Arms, a leg, a head snapping back from the force of a punch. The figures beyond the glass were what interested you. You barely made out the cyborg who had replaced his hospital gown with armor. All your years of working for Overwatch, and you had never seen combat.

Not once.

So when the opportunity to watch agents spar--watch  _ Genji  _ fight--presented itself, you gladly watched. With your mouth open. With one last shove, Genji hopped back to put some distance between him and his opponent. Even from here, you could see the sweat and new bruises littering their skin.

The two circled each other, eyes darting to-and-fro to catch the other’s movements. On one end was someone you hadn't seen before, a taller man who wore a goofy cowboy hat. He seemed to be talking, possibly yelling taunts in his ridiculous getup. That alone made it difficult for you to take what was happening seriously. Then you took a look at Genji. 

“Is that a  _ sword _ ?” You asked incredulously. Strapped to his back was a rough-looking length of metal. At this day and age, it just looked silly. You thought of ninjas, the ones that often showed up in films. 

You didn't expect an answer, but you got one. “Yes,” said a random lab assistant. You shifted your eyes to look at the assistant.  “We’re seeing how it wears in combat. He can't use it, of course, but it's a good time test it on him.” 

You looked back to the fight. “Of course…”

In the seconds that you looked away, the two men had sprung back into action. It was a blink-and-miss-it moment that you definitely missed. You wondered how people could be so light on their feet. Genji skirted around the cowboy, landing quick blows that only seemed to annoy him. You winced every time the cowboy got in a good hit on Genji. Even though Genji was faster (a sharp contrast to the man who struggled to walk), you realized that the cowboy wasn’t so bad himself.

You also realized that Genji moved rather beautifully, too. The cowboy looked fed up as he leans in to grab the cyborg only to have Genji vault over him. He lands so damn gracefully behind him that you’re feeling about as confused as the cowboy looks. He’s swinging around to see Genji, but he doesn’t get far before the  _ actual ninja  _ seizes one of his arms and wrenches it behind his back. The cyborg gets the cowboy on the ground in no time flat.

“Stop.” 

It came from inside the room. Your attention is drawn to a man by the window hovering over a mic. You didn’t see him come in, but all attention is on him now that he’s spoken. He continued, “Take a break. Come back here in 10.”

Genji eased up on the pressure on the man’s back. He stood up in a fluid motion, and with it you felt like you could breathe again. You didn’t realize you were holding your breath in the first place. Just this morning, you were walking into work ready to start another day. Whether it was shock or awe, you questioned your decision to work with Dr. Zeigler. 

Speak of the devil. She walked over and stood by you. “What do you think?” She asked. 

The question hung in the air for a few seconds. “His progress is amazing,” you said. A glance back at the window showed him walking off the training floor.

Dr. Ziegler pursed her lips. The look on her face showed you conflicted emotions; she was torn between pride of her work and worry about what she had created. “He’s skilled, but... hard to manage.”

“That’s a nice way to put it,” someone said. You looked over to see the man who called the break. He was considerably taller than Dr. Ziegler, even though she had heels on. It took you a minute to recognize his broad build and rough features.

You nodded. “Commander Reyes.”

Surprise flickered through his expression. It was only for a second, though. “Yes. You’re the new MA Angela brought on this morning.”

“Yes, sir.”

“To help with the ninja.” 

You struggled to keep a straight face. “The one and only.”

Again, you saw a crack in his stoic face. You might’ve imagined the corners of his lips lifting. “Best of luck.

 

It was late at night when you checked your wristwatch and realized that it was nearly 12 AM. The lack of windows this far down made it hard to keep track of time. It was a good thing your hours now started later in the morning. Commander Reyes had left earlier to attend to ‘business.’ 

You excused yourself, but not before Dr. Ziegler said: “Before you go…”

Oh no.

“...Can you go take patch up Genji for the day?”

A nod. “Of course.”

It was a chance to get acquainted with the layout anyways. Three minutes was all it took to get to the infirmary on the floor. Stepping in, you had to let out a short whistle at the equipment the place stocked. The only thing missing, though, was Genji. 

You looked around, pulled back curtains, and peered down the hall. No sign of him. You were tired and wanted to go to sleep. The sluggishness of your body compelled you to sit down on a nearby task chair. Lean back and wait for him, the chair called to you. 

It would’ve been rude to ignore the chair. You did as it asked--and more. At the sound of the softest footsteps, your eyes fluttered open. When had they been closed?

Genji stood at the entrance of the infirmary. He folded his arms across his chest and watched you stand up hastily. You greeted him to no response. Typical.

“Mr. Shimada, why don’t you take a seat so I can fix you up?”  _ So I can leave. _

But your plans never lined up with his. He shifted his weight to the other foot, just watching you. You repeated the question. It would’ve been a staring contest if he even bothered looking at you. You tried again, “the faster we’re done, the faster we can go to sleep.”

Genji didn’t need that much sleep anymore. You both knew this. “I have time.” 

The response hung in the air for a moment. Maybe you were tired. Maybe you were just stressed due to suddenly being thrown into this whole other world. Either way, you were  _ done  _ with him.  _ Done. _ You walked towards him, talking as you went.

“ _ Listen, _ ” you said a bit too forcefully. You didn’t mean to raise your voice, surprising yourself too. You caught his attention for the moment regardless. “I don’t know  _ what  _ your problem with me is--”

“I--”

A finger was pushed against his helmet. “I’m talking!”

“Fuck off.” That was one English phrase you could’ve done without him knowing. 

“I know you hate me. I don’t know why, but you need to stop acting like a  _ kid  _ and talk to me about it.”

You saw the telltale furrowing of his eyebrows. Before he could interrupt again, you spoke. “I don’t like you, either. The feeling’s mutual.  _ But,  _ we’re going to be stuck with each other. For a while. I suggest you suck it up, Genji, because I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Even though you insulted him for being childish, you heard your volume increase toward the end. His first name even slipped out on accident. God. You weren’t sure about it before, but it looked like you made your decision to stay on with Dr. Ziegler. 

You were breathing hard from borderline-yelling and he was staring straight at you. He expected the tired pleading of the doctors, the repeated scoldings from Reyes, but not you. You tried to make your presence small. You quietly carried out your job as a Medical Assistant. 

Frankly, you caught him off guard. 

Deep breaths. In, out. You had this. You composed yourself. “Again, I don’t know what I did. But I’m sorry for it. We all have jobs to do and I’m just trying to do mine.”

Genji, unreadable, simply sat on the exam table. Steady eye contact between the two of you was held for a good minute, you searching him for a reaction all the while. He finally lifted his arms. Off to the side, like he was presenting himself to you. 

“Do your worst.” You took it as a cue to move in. 

He seemed a little more relaxed than before. Still tense, but better. You went through your normal job of recording data and making sure his body still functioned. He answered any questions you had with brief replies.  Genji’s black and red armor only made his scarred skin stand out more. A survey of the skin showed a few bruises and a nasty gash on his arm. It already showed signs of healing, but you thought it'd be safer to cover it.  Breaking eye contact, you got an alcohol wipe. It was routine for you, but your hands stayed hovered over his skin, wary of contact. You took a breath and quickly wiped down the wound. Bandaging it took another few seconds. His skin shifted below your gloved touch. But he didn’t move away. You took a step back and made sure it was secured on his skin. 

“Well,” you looked over him once more, “it looks like you're good to go.” You risked a pat on the shoulder and you made your way towards the door.

“Wait.”

You turned around. “Do you need anything else?”

“Your wrist,” said Genji. You looked down at your arm, confused. He read your expression. “It was bruised after I woke up.”

Raising your hand, you pulled your sleeve down to reveal unblemished skin. You couldn't help but laugh. “You still remember that? It's already healed up.” 

“...Still, I am sorry.”  _ For everything _ . You understood. A simple wave of your hand as you left told him that you held no grudges. For the prideful Genji to  _ apologize _ was a huge step itself.

“Goodnight,  _ Agent _ Shimada,” you said. 

His reply was lost behind the slide of the doors closing shut. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is longer than the past 3 chapters combined but i didn't know how to split it so here u have ch. 4 in all it's glory. thanks for reading <3 it's only going to get longer. :)


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